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Hall of Fame golfer Hubert Green dies at 71; won 2 majors

(AP)-- Hall of Fame golfer Hubert Green, who won a U.S. Open playing portions of the final round despite a threat against his life, has died. He was 71.

Green won the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship in a career that included 19 PGA Tour victories and four on the seniors circuit. The PGA Tour announced that Green died Tuesday after battling throat cancer.

Green held a one-stroke lead at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he completed the 14th hole of the final round of the U.S. Open. He then was notified by tournament officials they had received a threat saying he would be shot when he reached the 15th green.

Given the choice to clear the course of fans or return the following day, Green played on and captured his first major by one stroke, even making birdie at the 16th hole.

He outlasted Lee Trevino on the back side of the final round of the 1985 PGA Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver.

Green was a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams and never lost a singles match. He was the PGA Tour rookie of the Year in 1971.

Curtis Strange, who entered the Hall of Fame the same year as Green, tweeted
: "Sad day in golf. Hubert was a good man, great player, and friend. He was a tough guy, demanded a lot of himself, a complete competitor. You wanted Hubert on your team. RIP my friend."

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Green was recruited to Florida State in 1968 by basketball coach Hugh Durham. He turned pro in 1969 and earned his PGA Tour card in 1970.

His swing was distinctively fast and featured a cock of the wrist. But it certainly worked, prompting him to once say: "I don't analyze it. I looked at it once on film and almost got sick."